As soon as I shut my eyes, my body became instantly cold. It was like back when I was in Atem's soul room, helping him and Yugi fight Pegasus. The only difference was that I could breathe, and my lungs didn't feel like they were about to burst. With the cold preventing me from sleeping, I opened my eyes to find myself surrounded by total darkness.

I gasped and sat straight up, looking around like a scared wild animal. This…this wasn't Ryo's soul room! Where…where was I?

"Ryo?" I called out, desperate to find someone. "Bakura? Someone, anyone?"

I put my arms around myself, trying to keep warm from the cold. There was a long silence, as I longed to hear Bakura, Ryo, or even Marik's voices.

Please Ra…I don't want be alone!

"Aw, the half-soul is awake at last!"

I let out a loud scream.

I quickly turned around to see what looked like an Egyptian man slowly coming towards me. He had short black hair, though his long bangs hung over his seemingly glowing green eyes. He had a murderous look to him, mostly in his eyes.

There was no way I was able to hide my fear. The Scary as Hell Egyptian Man smiled.

"Don't be afraid of me, half-soul," he said. "Trust me; I'm the least of your problems here in the Shadow Realm."

My eyes widened.

"This is the Shadow Realm?"

I paused.

"Wait…what's a 'half-soul?'"

The Guy More Creepy than Shadi chuckled again. Apparently, I was very amusing to him.

"Oh…you have so much to learn, my dear girl!" he exclaimed. "But yes, this is the Shadow Realm. A place between the afterlife and the mortal world. Truly remarkable place isn't? And it gets even better for you! For you, my dear girl, is what we spirits of the Shadow Realm call a 'half-soul.' A half-soul is a person whose soul is partly in the Shadow Realm and has the rest of their soul in the afterlife or mortal world."

The man narrowed his eyes.

"Though, you seem to be a rare case. Only a fragment of your soul is in the mortal world, correct?"

I blinked, all the information coming at me so fast.

"H-how did you know?"

"Because you seem less ghost-like," he answered. "If your soul was mostly elsewhere, you would look like a ghost. Take a good look at yourself."

Like he said, I looked down at my hand. And sure enough, the Egyptian Dude was right. My hand did look like it was fully there, though it was a tiny bit see through, which probably represented the part of my soul that was in the Millennium Ring.

While I was distracted, the Egyptian got closer to me, staring at me intensely. He put his face very close to mine, and I yelped, scooting myself as far away from him as possible.

"…You look familiar," the man said softly. "Your face…I faintly recognize it…"

I blinked, breathing heavily.

"…I'm pretty sure we haven't met before," I replied in a shaky voice. "I would remember someone like you…"

The Guy with Snake Like Eyes continued to stare at me. Suddenly, his eyes started to transform from bright green to blood red, becoming literary snake like. My eyes widened as I recognized that bloodthirsty look. The Guy with Red Snake Eyes gave me a large smile.

"Ah yes...now it all makes sense…"

He stood up, his eyes slowly turning from red back to green.

"I'm sorry about that. My memory sometimes…has gaps. It takes me awhile to remember things. But now…I'm fully aware who you are, Roxanne Thorndyke."

My face paled and the man laughed, though it sounded more like a hiss.

"Relax, I'm not going to harm you," he said amused. "For even if I wanted to, I couldn't. So long as a piece of your soul is in the Millennium Ring, which can be the only explanation why you are still alive, I cannot touch you."

And that makes me feel so much better!

I finally stood up, and though I was petrified, I walked up to the Snake Eyed man.

"So, if a part of my soul is still with the Millennium Ring, why am I in the Shadow Realm? How do I get back?" I questioned.

Snake Eyed Guy smirked.

"Because you're conscious needs to be with your soul at all times. And since yours is torn in half, if you fall asleep or something, you wake up where the other part is. If you just go to sleep, you will wake up right back in the Millennium Ring."

"So…no matter what I don't get any sleep?"

The man paused.

"Normally, yes. You will be awake no matter what. But…I can solve that problem. For a price, of course."

I narrowed my eyes. "Like what?"

"Oh don't worry, it isn't much. And it is part of the ritual too."

"Wait, ritual?"

"A dark ritual, yes," the man explained. "But from what I've seen back when I was alive, it is very tame. But, it's worth getting some sleep, right? And like I said, no one in the Shadow Realm can physically harm you."

I glared at the Egyptian man for a long moment. From the looks of it, he was about as trustworthy as pyromaniac with a flamethrower. But I knew…that if I didn't get any sleep I was sure to go insane. I needed to rest. And if I couldn't be physically harmed, and another part of my soul in the Millennium Ring…

I let out a heavy sigh.

"Alright, what do you want…uh…"

The man smiled.

"I would have assumed that you would figured out my name by now. But apparently, modern people aren't as smart as they were back in Ancient Egypt."

"So…what is your name?"

He sighed.

"If you don't figure it out once the ritual is over, which would be extremely sad, I'll tell you because you're the first prey I've had in like…oh Zorc, how long has it been?"

My face paled, for the more he talked the more I was regretting my decision.

"Oh well, I'll figure it out later," the man finally said, though sounding a bit irritated. "It's not like I'll be going anywhere any time soon. Now, back to the ritual..."

The Egyptian man stepped closer to me.

"As I said, you can't be harmed by anyone fully trapped in the Shadow Realm. However…if you let us, we can touch you in any way you allow us to."

His eyes glowed in the darkness.

"For the ritual to work, I will be giving you a bit of my ka's power to put your soul here in a coma like state. As long as your other half is still in the mortal world in any shape or form, this part will stay asleep and your consciousness can't come back. In other words, you will be able to sleep. However, there is a catch. And for my ka's power to effect…I need to drink your blood."

I gasped.

"What, no! Like hell I will let you do that! What are you, a vampire?"

I felt like I was going to be sick. Irritation and anger flashed in the Egyptian man's eyes, which got me to immediately stop talking. There was a blood lust in his green, slightly red, eyes. A lust for blood…I felt like he would slit my throat at any second.

But…it would seem I don't have any choice. And the sooner I'm away from this guy, the better. I looked down at the ground, cursing myself for letting this happened.

"…Fine. Just make it quick!" I finally said. "And please…don't overdo it…I hate the sight of blood."

The Egyptian man gave a large smile.

"I will do my best."

Quickly slithering to my side, the man yanked my left arm towards him. I whimpered a bit, closing my eyes shut. I heard him unsheathed a knife or dagger and slice the skin on my wrist. I flinched in pain and I felt the man's lips touch my skin, sucking in my blood. It took all my self control not to panic, for I needed to get back to Ryo's soul room.

After what felt like an eternity, and keeping myself from fainting, I felt the man back away and an overwhelming amount of pain in my arm. I looked back at the man, wiping the blood off his lips.

"You have no idea how satisfying that was," he said with gasps of air. "It was like the drink of a newly opened wine bottle…"

By Ra, this man is sick!

I placed my good arm protectively over my left arm. The man smirked.

"Now you are free to go. Just go to sleep and you will be back in the Millennium Ring."

"Kay, thanks," I said with a bit of a spat of disgust. "I'm looking forward to getting out of here! But before I go…"

I paused for a moment.

"I want to know not only your name...but who you are."

The man's grin grew.

"That is a more complicated question then you think, Roxanne. And if I know you well enough, along with Zorc, you will find out eventually. But, for now, just think of me as nothing more than an old thief forgotten in the sands of time. A thief named…Akhekh."

My eyes widened when he said his name, and Akhekh's eyes glowed at my reaction.

"You better go while you still can, Roxanne," Akhekh said softly. "Otherwise, you will learn too much. And it isn't like you know too much already…"

Noting the threatening tone in his voice, I quickly ran off deeper into the Shadow Realm. I didn't think he would chase me, he couldn't harm me, but I wanted to be as far away from that freak as possible. Once I knew I had lost him, I found myself a good place to lie down and closed my eyes tightly.

Never in my life did I drifted off to sleep so fast.

I immediately woke up back in Ryo's soul room, being in the exact same place as I was when I first went to sleep. My heart beat returned to normal, as I knew I was finally safe. I sat up a bit, noticing the room was complete dark. I heard someone snore, sounding completely exhausted. I smiled to myself a little.

At least one of us is getting some rest.

Wanting to get some fresh air, or at least the best I could, I quietly stepped of Ryo's soul room. The air was a bit cooler in the hallway, which I kind of liked. It wasn't as cold as it was in the Shadow Realm, but it had enough coolness to help calm you down after a stressful experience. And that was just how I felt.

Finding a good place to sit, I sat against the wall and closed my eyes, covering my wounded arm with the end of my shirt. I may even sleep out here, all by myself. Not in the way of Ryo or crowding space in his soul room. A soul room was not meant for two people, for two souls to rest.

Everything will be better...if I'm on my own for a bit...

"What are you doing here?"

My eyes shot opened. I turned to see Bakura stepping out of his soul room, giving me a concern look.

"What are you doing here?" Bakura repeated, as I apparently had a blank look on my face.

I turned away from his gaze and stared at the opposite wall.

"I just wanted some fresh air," I finally said. "I wanted to relax...and not be in the way."

I could feel Bakura's gaze burning into me, but I refused to look at him. To my surprise, I heard him come closer and felt him sit next to me.

"What makes you say that?" he asked.

I sighed.

"Ryo's soul room was starting to get crowded so I left for a bit. Though he would never say it, his soul room is really just meant for him and not two people."

There was a long silence between us, and I felt a little uncomfortable by it.

"...You blame yourself for Melvin, don't you? That's what you are truly worried about."

I remained silent. Bakura sighed heavily.

"I don't understand why you always feel like everything is your responsibility, Roxanne. You may know the future, yes, but there are just some things you can't control."

"But I could have warn Marik when I had the chance!" I argued. "I could have stopped all of this..."

"No, you can't."

Bakura made me look at him the eyes.

"You may not be from this world, Roxanne," he said solemnly. "You may know things that I, or anyone else, can never fully comprehend. But you forget that you are still human. A human who can still break down under stress, who can't do everything by herself."

"A human...just like you and the others."

Bakura avoided eye contact.

"I'm anything but human. I think you know that better than anyone else."

I smiled gently at him.

"Perhaps if you look past the anger and darkness, and not let it control you...you will see the man inside."

I laid my head on his shoulder.

"...Just like I do..."

I closed my eyes and my breathing started to slow down. Quietly, Bakura put his arms around me and laid his head next to mine. I smiled in my sleep, feeling completely safe and warm in his arms. Even though I would wake up back in a living hell, it was nice to have a moment of peace.

With someone I loved dearly.